How The East Was Won
by LaughingLefou
Summary: Ever try to shoot a ninja running at full speed? Damn near impossible, let me tell you. There's a reason shinobi don't use firearms. Their loss tho'. They don't want ta' make you a ninja? Then we'll just have to make you the best goddamn gunslinger this side of the Rio Grande. "What's a Rio Grande?
1. Chapter 1

**How the East Was Won**

 **Prologue: The Black Powder Fox**

 _Clip-clop, Clip-clop, Clip-clop_

He was used to attracting stares.

His choice of dress attracted attention no matter where he went. It was a foreign style, worn by no one in any of the various lands save for his mentor and brother. A brown leather vest, brown leather pants and a wide brimmed, white hat with a band of snakeskin, out from under which peeked a pair of sapphire blue eyes. Between his lips, a stalk of straw was held, being lazily chewed upon in a mimicry of the horse upon which he rode. That might have been the second reason he attracted stares; he was naught but a young boy of 12 years old, but rode into the foggy little town upon a majestic black mare with a confidence of someone years his elder. Lastly, upon his hip were a pair of leather holsters, a pair of ivory handles sticking out from them, possibly the _least_ strange thing about him.

The peasants and fishermen who lined the dirt streets stopped what they were doing, murmuring among themselves as the boy and horse slowly trotted by. Voices filled with curiosity, concern, worry and even anger rose and fell, but never to an audible point to the boy. He spoke not a word in return, simply chewing on the piece of straw, letting his blue eyes scan the wooden huts and dilapidated shops that made up the fishing village. It was almost halfway through the village when his eyes happened to lock onto a single, splintered sign and his lips turned upward, hands at the reigns of his horse steering it toward the building. As he approached it, a pair of older villagers cleared away, giving the boy and horse a wide berth as they started at him with suspicion and a tinge of fear. The boy however, didn't seem to mind or even acknowledge them, simply bringing his horse to the sign and leaping down off of the coal black mare.

He took the reigns and tied them to the sign, the metal spikes on the backs of his brown leather boots ringing with each step, and walked into the building, brushing aside the faded blue curtain that made up the doorframe. Inside, a few worn and splintered tables sat, oil lamps upon each one that had gone cold leaving the place looking dim and dismal. At the far end was a wooden counter with a few old stools that looked like they were one slightly overweight person away from giving way and turning into toothpicks. Behind the counter, a hunched woman stood, wiping at a bowl with a dirty rag. She turned to look at the boy, and her eyes widened, blinking in surprise.

The boy stepped forward and grabbed the brim of his hat, tilting it downward in greeting. "Howdy, ma'am."

He was met with silence as the woman looked him up and down a few moments before she finally caught her voice. "C-can I help you?"

"Well, ah was just hopin' ah could rustle up some grub. Been on the trail for too long and ah'm famished. Wouldn't mind servin' up a bowl of ramen for this cowpoke, would ya?" The boy asked, grinning from ear to ear.

The woman's mouth opened and closed, murmuring to herself nervously, eyes shifting between the boy, the door he'd entered through, and the kitchen behind herself. Eventually, she spoke again. "You...you're not from around here, are you?"

With a smirk, the boy replied, "What gave it away?"

He was answered with a sigh, the woman's expression softening. "Where are your parents?"

"'Dunno." The boy shrugged, chewing absentmindedly on the piece of straw hanging out of his mouth.

A sigh; the woman shook her head slowly and frowned. "Boy, you shouldn't be here. This place...isn't safe."

Blinking, the boy looked around the little shop and turned back to the woman, cocking his eyebrow. "Ma'am, ah'll admit this place ain't the shiniest bullet in the bag, but it ain't all _that_ bad."

"No, not-" The woman huffed and frowned. "I mean the village! If Gato's men catch you, they'll rob you blind!"

Whatever answer the woman was expecting from the young blond boy, laughter wasn't one of them. "Ah think ah'll be fine. Ah've been on the road for a while now and ah _think_ ah know how to protect myself."

The woman sighed again. "...fine, but I've warned you. What do you want?"

"A bowl o' miso ramen, iffin' ya wouldn't mind."

"That'll be 1500 Ryo."

Silence. The woman looked up from her bowl to see the boy staring back with open shock. "Shee-it...you makin' that with gold flakes or somethin'?"

"You _really_ aren't from around here, are you?" The boy reached down, grabbing a leather pouch on his belt and pulled out a handful of Ryo, throwing onto the counter with a wry smile. It was taken and counted, and the woman paused before handing a few back to the boy. "Look, I'll give you a discount today, but you have to leave when you finish eating." The woman's tone was low and concerned, as though she were nervous that someone might overhear her.

Whatever answer the boy had planned to return with was cut off as the sound of heavy footfalls behind the boy alerted both boy and woman to the presence of a pair of new comers. Two men, dressed in various bits of armor and leather had stepped in, the pair sporting cruel smirks. "Hey, bitch! We're hungry, so start with the cooking, yeah?" The two marched forward and as they passed the boy, the taller of the two pushed him aside, causing him to stumble.

"Whoah, hey pardner, what's the rush?" The boy asked, brushing himself as though he hadn't just been rudely shoved aside. "Grub ain't goin' nowhere."

"Huh?!" The shorter of the two turned to him, ugly face glowering. "Who the hell are you, brat? Don't you know who this is?"

The boy tilted his head, still peering out from under the brim of his hat. ""Don't rightly reckon ah do…"

"Tch! This is Yakumi Takahata, the Fifth Dragon of the East! One of Gato's closest generals! Bow before your betters!" The shorter man replied, backed by the taller man crossing his arms and staring down at the boy with a 'hmph.'

Scratching the back of his head, the boy cocked his eyebrow again. "Ah'm still 'fraid ah haven't heard 'bout ya. Though, if we're trading titles, most people 'round these parts-" the boy began, when the shorter man suddenly lunged forward, a shining silver object in his hand flashing. The boy ducked, his hat getting knocked off of his head and landing on the floor.

"I said _bow!_ "

The boy didn't acknowledge the man, instead kneeling down to grab his hat, fingering the cut in the brim from where the knife had made contact, and his blue eyes narrowed. "Oh. So that's how we're gonna do things."

"You say something brat? By the way, that your horse outside? We're taking that for ourselves! Can't enter this village without paying Gato's tax!" the shorter man bragged, grinning cruelly.

"Please," the woman interjected, "he's just a child!"

"Shut up bitch!" The short man yelled, brandishing his knife at the woman. "Stay out of this and start cook-"

 _ **BOOM!**_

There was a noise like a clap of thunder mere feet away, and simultaneously the shorter of the two men was picked up and launched backwards as though having been struck under the chin by a powerful force. He crashed into a table, breaking it and the chairs and lay still, head slumped. The taller man's eyes widened and he looked down to see the boy holding a metal pipe on a handle, the top of it smoking slightly. In his other hand, the boy held his hat, slowly placing it upon his head as he stood to his feet.

"What the hell did you do?!" the taller man screamed, pulling out a large club nearly the size of a grown man's leg from behind his back. He only got halfway through drawing it though, before a second thunderclap sounded, echoing loudly as the taller man too was launched backward and knocked out, landing atop his companion. The boy twirled the metal pipe on his finger and blew the smoke off the top of it before sliding it back into one of the leather holsters upon his hip.

"Ain't nobody but me touching mah hat."

Everything went _dead_ quiet, with the silence only being broken up by a faint whinney coming from the mare outside, the noises obviously having disturbed the equine. The old women stared slack jawed and wide eyed at the boy who stared silently at the two men lying still. Slowly he brought his gaze up to the old woman and gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry 'bout the scare, ma'am. Ah don't rightly reckon y'all ever seen a gun 'round these here parts."

His apology was met with continuous slack jawed shock and the boys smile faltered. "Look, ma'am, they ain't dead, just knocked out! Ah don't think they're worth the ammo."

Still more stunned silence, though now with added opening and closing of the old woman's mouth, as though she were trying to speak, but no words were emerging. Finally, she managed to speak, her words quiet and hoarse. "Are...are you a ninja?"

The boy gave a barking laugh. "Ma'am, do ah look like a ninja? Ah ain't got one of them fancy headbands on, do ah?"

"T-t-then w-what are y-you?" the woman fearfully questioned.

"Well, ah'm what you'd call a _gunslinger._ " He lifted up the silver revolver with the ivory handle, pushing the brim of his hat up with the tip of the barrel. "Think o' me as a...a foreign samurai. This here's mah katana, in a sense. Now, uh, you mind tellin' me who this 'Gato,' is? Ah keep hearin' his name bein' thrown about, and if what those two varmints were talkin' about was true, it looks like he owes me for mah hat."

"You can't be serious boy! Gato is dangerous! He's got hundreds of men at his disposal and a pair of Nukenin to boot!"

Whatever the woman had been expecting the boy to react with, his eyes lighting up and a smirk growing on his face was _not_ one of those reactions. "Nukenin, you say? Don't reckon ya know their names do ya? I'm runnin' low on travel funds, and a quick visit to the Bingo Book might let me leave this place richer than what ah entered in with."

The woman looked down at the two unconscious men on the floor, then back to the boy, then once more to the men, her expression conflicted. Finally, with a sigh, she leaned in close over the counter. "He lives due south of the village, in the heart of the swamplands in a large stone fort. It's impossible to miss. Still, I'd feel better if you didn't go. We've already had too many people lose their lives to Gato and his men, and a boy like yourself, as skilled though you may be, shouldn't lose yours as well."

The boy's smile never left his lips as he chewed on the stalk of wheat some more, chuckling. "Ma'am, ah appreciate the offer, but ah can promise you they ain't never met someone like me before. 'Sides, ah am listed in the Bingo Books, after all."

Eyes widening, the woman watched as the boy turned on his booted heels and began to mosey out the door, thumbs hooked along the waist of his pants, and as he brushed aside the tattered curtain into the fog covered streets of the village, she spoke up one last time. "Who...who _are_ you?!"

The boy, only turning his head just enough for the woman to see his smug grin replied, "Well, most folk 'round these parts call me the Black Powder Fox. If it's a name ya need though, ah reckon you could call me... _Naruto Uzumaki._ "

With that, the boy strode out the shop, leaving the woman staring in shock at his retreating form, leaving nothing but silence in his wake…

 **A/N: Okay, let's get a few things out of the way. Please do** _ **NOT**_ **PM me for the following.**

" **But guns wouldn't work in Naruto/Guns would be too weak/There are already guns/Etc." Look, I get it. This is just a silly little idea I've had for a while and I really don't care too much about things like canon and logic. If that's an issue, you might want to look elsewhere. I've got a few interesting ideas that can be done with guns to even the playing field, but you'll have to wait for those.**

" **Can you give Naruto (Insert Bloodline Here)?" No. Just assume the answer is no and move on.**

" **Can you make this X pairing?" Refer to above. I might have a pairing, I might not. I haven't decided yet.**

" **Can you make this a crossover with X?" No.**

" **Will you be getting back to your RWBY fics?" Not until Vol 6 improves things or the amount of freetime I have for writing increases drastically.**

 **With that being said, hopefully you'll all enjoy this; as I said, it's a silly little idea I've had for a while, so expect a lot of Cowboy cliches, goofy situations and not just a little Sasuke bashing because fuck that whiny duck-ass haired Karma Houdini.**


	2. First Bullet

**How the East Was Won**

 **Chapter 1: First Bullet**

* * *

 _Clip-clop, clip-clop._

The sound of horse hooves once again signaled his approach, though this time muffled by the dirt that had overtaken the road into the swamp. In the distance, Naruto could see it, the large imposing stone fort that the shipping mogul had made his home. The villagers were tight lipped when he'd asked them for more information, but a select few had given him enough. The village had been under the thumb of the fat, rich mogul for quite some time, and it had only gotten worse when he'd acquired the services of the infamous Zabuza Momichi, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. With him, and an army of ne'er-do-wells at his beck and call, Gato ruled over the poor little fishing village with an iron fist.

An awful pity then, that one of his mooks had the misfortune to have caused damage to Naruto's hat.

One might have called his reaction overkill, but the piece of headwear held special significance to him, as much as the twin revolvers on his hip. Thus, the act of damaging it had to come with a price. The fact that an infamous Nukenin happened to be in the area who could be captured and returned for a sizable bounty, was just coincidence, surely. With a shake of his head, the blond boy focused upon the road ahead of him, to the large, rusted gate that blocked his path. Standing on either side of the gate were two more scruffy looking men with piecemeal armor and weapons that looked like they'd been made out of whatever farm equipment they could salvage. In short, bandits; Gato's men. Naruto hadn't even _tried_ to hide his approach, so it wasn't long before the men spotted him as well.

As they strode forward, glaring at the boy, the boy hopped off of the horse, spurs jingling as his boots hit the dirt road. "Howdy!" Naruto greeted cheerfully, waving at the imposing, rough figures.

"The hell are you doing here, brat?! This is Gato's land! You must be really friggin' stupid to wander up to the front door like this! Unless you're here to give Gato that horse of yours…"

Naruto gave a sharp laugh. "Y'all are welcome to try, but ah'm willin' to bet that y'all ain't never dealt with a stubborn hawse like this ol' gal here."

"Are you being smart with us, brat?!" sneered one of the bandits.

Naruto smirked out from under the brim of his hat. "Don't reckon y'all'd've known the difference."

"The Hell are you saying? You talk like an idiot!"

The boy glared. "'scuse me? 's how Aniki talked, and he's a helluva lot smarter than you lowlifes."

"Did'ja hear that? Little shit just called us lowlifes!" One of the bandits sneered.

His partner chimed in, "You know what we do to smart mouthed brats like you? We slowly slice off all your flesh, salt your wounds and make you eat your skin before you die!"

"Disregardin' how that's impossible, there ain't no reason to be startin' nothin'. Ah'm just here to talk to that 'Gato' feller."

"Gato doesn't talk to brats!"

"Is that so? Just so happens, Ah got an invitation from the man himself." Naruto mused matter of factly.

Said explanation came with such confidence that the two bandits who'd more than likely never had a proper education, were taken aback. They looked at one another, exchanging confused glances, before the expression on their faces morphed back to attempted intimidation. "Bullshit! Gato doesn't want anything to do with little shits!"

"Naw, seriously!" Naruto retorted as though he weren't staring two murderous thugs down, "Here, lemme show you two."

Even further confused, the two paused as they watched Naruto's hand reach down to his hip and withdraw a single ivory handled revolver from its holster, pulling the hammer back with a single click. Without fanfare or ritual, the blond boy casually aimed the barrel directly at the forehead of one of the men and pulled the trigger.

 _CRACK!_

The man's head snapped back as though hit with a baseball bat, the rest of him following suit as he hit the dirt path, unmoving. His partner, completely stunned and caught off guard by the action, only had enough time to turn back to the boy to notice he'd aimed the pistol right at him before there was a second _CRACK_ and the man's world turned to black. He too flew backward and hit the dirt like his partner, both of them laying still, save for their chests gently rising and falling. Silence fell over the dirt road, marred only by the sound of the black mare whinnying slightly, and the jangle of Naruto's spurs as he casually walked back to the horse, twirling the revolver on his finger before holstering it. With practiced movements, the boy hopped onto the black mare and with a gentle tap of his boots, the horse began to move forward down the dirt road once more.

It didn't take too long until the large, stone structure that Gato had made his fortress loomed, hidden by the large trees and the swampland. The dirt road was the only walkable path to the building, although Naruto stopped the horse a distance away from the building, taking the reins in his hand and tying them to a nearby tree. "Stay here ol' gal. Ah've got some business to take care of."

If the horse understood, it made no sign that it did, instead deciding that its attention was better paid to a tuft of grass that was growing tall, chewing away at it. Naruto turned on his heel, ambling toward the large wooden and iron door that made up the entrance to the old fortress. As he got closer, the sounds of raucous laughter and partying could be heard, becoming more audible with each step. It wasn't until he got right up next to the heavy wood door that he could tell why no one had come running during the earlier gunshots. With the sounds of drunken revelry, he'd be surprised if any of them could hear it if the world had ended outside. Naruto scratched his chin, thinking, then with a sly smirk, drew a revolver and slammed the butt of the gun against the door once, twice, and a third time with thunderous bangs. While the gunshot might have been muffled with distance, the knock on the door might have been better heard by a nearby guard.

A few moments passed, then the stone door slowly opened up, letting the noise (as well as the smell of cheap booze and unwashed bodies) filter out into the swamp land. A large, balding and scarred man fully opened the door, looking outside before slowly lowering his gaze when he noticed no one at his height at the door. He had only a moment to peer gormlessly at the blond boy in the cowboy hat before said boy calmly leveled the barrel of the revolver with his head and pulled the trigger.

 _CRACK!_

Like the two men earlier, the larger man was picked up off the ground and sent crashing to the ground below, unconscious. _This_ gunshot was heard, and the sounds of the party inside stopped. Calmly, Naruto stepped in, punctuating the thunderous silence with the jingling of his spurs. Inside was what looked to be a great hall, although dilapidated and worn with time and disregard. The room was filled with even more bandits, all dressed in various bits of worn leather armor and strapped with rusted and battered weaponry. Every eye in the room turned to the door, and more specifically, to Naruto himself, whose smile just grew even wider.

"Well, ah'll be damned. Now _this_ is a party." mused Naruto, pushing the brim of his hat up with the tip of his revolver, eyes glinting in the firelight of the room.

" **The hell did you just do brat?!** " screamed a bandit, stunned by the boy's audacity.

" _ **KILL HIM!**_ " Another bandit shouted, and at once, every man in the hall stood to their feet, drawing their weapons, knocking over jars of sake and cards used for their gambling.

Instead of turning tail and fleeing, the blond boy's smirk grew to its widest and most confident as he drew the second revolver and he licked his lips. "Ah _knew_ comin' this way was gonna be a good idea. Now, let's get this party started, yeah?" His statement was punctuated by the metal sounds of the hammers being cocked back.

Outside, grazing peacefully, the horse paused when a sudden volley of rapid thunderous cracks echoed through the swampland. A few moments later, it lowered its head back once more, as though the sudden ruckus that floated down to the beast was nothing to be concerned about. The thunderous cracks, as well as the sounds of metal clashing against metal continued to waft out from down the path, continuing on for quite some time. Eventually, the horse raised its head to see a rough looking, terrified man scrambling down the path, his pale face belying just _how_ scared he truly was. Frantically, he ran past the horse, not even acknowledging its presence as the man screamed a single word.

" _ZABUZA-SAMA!_ "

* * *

 **[Land of Waves - Bridge Construction Site]**

* * *

Sasuke Uchiha was going to die.

This thought was sickening to one of the only two surviving Uchiha members, and the only one who could be called the heir to the family. To think, that on his first mission outside of the village, he was going to die, all because some bridge builder had cheaped out on his payments. Because of this, Team Seven, comprised of Sakura Haruno, Sai and himself, were going to die upon the unfinished bridge at the hands of a nukenin and his protege. A trio of ice needles pierced his already agonized body, finding their mark in the back of his leg against a bundle of nerves, causing a fresh batch of pain to run through him and drop him to the ground, blood trickling all over his body in rivulets.

His executioner was a Kekkei Genkai user as well, an ice wielder who could move faster than even his newly born Sharingan could keep up with. He'd been slowly pelting him with ice needles and keeping him entrapped in a cage full of ice mirrors, moving from one to the other with such speed that it was impossible to follow where the real one was. His vision was blurring, and the coldness of the ice was slowing him down further.

" _SASUKE!"_ Sakura screamed from her position near the

Sasuke winced. The pink haired harpy's voice cut through the air and grated like sandpaper against his mind. It was hard to think as it was without having her screeching interrupting his thought patterns. His red eyes glanced over to a crack between the mirrors to see a massive, thick and impenetrable cloud of fog covering a majority of the constructed bridge. Within it were Zabuza Momichi, Sasuke's teammate Sai, and Team Seven's sensei, Hatake Kakashi. The two had been doing their best to keep Zabuza busy, but it also meant that neither of them were going to be saving his hide any time soon. His hands clenched and body trembled. His dreams of killing his brother and achieving revenge for his clan were all but over. Rage, despair, all of these ran through him, even as more needles pierced his flesh to cause even further agony.

His vision began to dim. Was this it? Was this where the Uchiha clan died?

In the fog bank, Hatake Kakashi was having an equally hard time keeping calm. This was a fine mess they'd gotten themselves into; fighting a nukenin and his apprentice when they'd expected untrained and unskilled bandits. Zabuza was no pushover either; keeping both he and his student on their backfoot for the entire battle. They'd walked right into the trap and now it was all he could do to keep his students alive before the missing nin killed them all. He couldn't see anything through the thick fog Zabuza conjured up, and all he could hear was Sakura screaming the name of Sasuke in a manner that had his blood run cold. Sasuke was in danger. His hand clenched around his kunai and he forced his attention to the matter at hand. A slip up here could cost him his life, and if he died, his students were assuredly next. He had to have faith that Sasuke could hold off long enough. He glanced over to see Sai calmly kneeling on the ground, wrapping his Hitai-ate around his arm to staunch the blood that flowed down from it. An earlier mocking slice from Zabuza had clipped Sai and it was only the most frantic of dodges that kept the boy from losing his arm.

He didn't want to know how Elder Danzo would react to one of his proteges losing a limb while under his purview.

A crunch of stone, and Kakashi sliced his kunai upward in time to parry a blow from Zabuza's cleaver, although the force and heft of the blade nearly brought him to his knees.

"What's wrong, Copy-nin?" Zabuza mocked, his figure fading into the mists as quickly as he'd appeared, "I expected more from the Leaf Village's famed Jounin. Maybe if I get rid of those brats, I can see you actually go all out."

Kakashi clenched his teeth. "Damn it...Sai, stay close to me."

"Yes, sensei." Sai murmured, his monotone voice betraying no emotion.

Tension was palpable in the air as Kakashi strained his hearing to pick up any sign at all of Zabuza's approach. A bead of sweat dropped down his face and fell to the ground below as his entire body stiffened, waiting for an attack that seemed to take an eternity to arrive. Then-

" _ZABUZA-SAMA!_ " A shrill scream pierced the bridge, causing everyone to pause. Sasuke, noticing that Haku had stopped his onslaught, tried to get to his feet to take advantage of the situation, but his body wouldn't listen, unable to move an inch. " _ZABUZA-SAMA! Gato is under attack!_ "

"So," came Zabuza's voice, far too close to Kakashi for comfort, "That's your game. Not bad, Leaf-nin. Had a back-up plan, I see. Looks like you get live...for now. Haku!" Before Kakashi could make a move, there was a rush of wind signifying that the nukenin had vacated the area with haste. Kakashi did what he could to move to intercept Zabuza, but the fog was still too thick and he found himself only grasping at air.

The aforementioned boy stopped and bowed slightly toward Sasuke. "Forgive me." He murmured before rushing off, the mirrors melting behind him leaving Sasuke on the ground, bloody and unable to move. Moments later Sasuke's vision was filled with the sight of Sakura rushing over to him, falling to her knees before him.

"Sasuke!" Sakura was nearly in tears as she picked the boy up slightly, resting his head upon her thighs, uncaring of the blood that dripped onto her legs.

Mere seconds later, Kakashi was upon them as Sai made his way toward the bridge builder to make sure he was okay. Sasuke felt something being forced into his mouth and with great difficulty swallowed it. Moments later the pain began to melt away and a warmth rushed through him. Soldier pills might have taken the pain away and helped him heal, but he'd still be out of commission for a while. "It looks like you lucked out; Haku pierced everywhere he could that would be non-lethal, but your blood loss is going to keep you out. Sakura. Sai." Kakashi ordered, his tone no-nonsense. Sakura stiffened and Sai, who'd approached the three, stood at attention. "I need the two of you to take Sasuke back to the house as soon as you can. I'm going to follow Zabuza and Haku."

"But Sen-" Sakura started before she was abruptly cut off.

"That's an order, Sakura."

"Y-yes, Sensei. Will you be okay?"

Kakashi got to his feet. "I will be. Still, I'm wondering who attacked Gato and why? It can't be the villagers as even if they had the will to stand up and fight finally, Gato's bandits should be able to easily take care of them. Something tells me another ninja is involved. Take Tazuna and Sasuke back to the house and stay there until I come for you."

Sasuke felt himself being picked up, a dull twinge of pain running over his entire body. His wounds had already started to heal up, but his muscles still ached and he couldn't move on his own power with the loss of blood. He should have been thankful that Haku had gone out of his way to keep him alive, but all he could feel was humiliation that an enemy had taken pity on him. All he could do was seethe impotently as he was dragged back to the bridge builder, watching their Sensei rushing off in a flurry of leaves…

* * *

 **[Land of Waves - Gato's Fortress]**

* * *

Zabuza and Haku made good time; both of them pushing themselves to get to Gato before someone could take him out. If Gato died, their entire reason for being in the Land of Waves would be gone and with it, any chance to make any money. Upon making their way down the swamp road, Zabuza stopped when he noticed a coal black mare casually grazing on some grass, tied to a tree by its reigns. The beast slowly raised its head to the two nukenin, then lowered its gaze back down to the ground, continuing to chew at the vegetation. Zabuza and Haku exchanged glances and ignoring the beast, took off once more.

Upon reaching the giant stone fortress walls, both of them noticed something. "It's too quiet." Haku murmured. Zabuza's eyebrows knitted together as he glared, approaching the large wooden door which was still slightly ajar. He pushed it further and stepped inside with Haku right behind him. The entrance hall, which was usually full to bursting with raucous laughter and partying of Gato's bandits was quiet, for very obvious reason. The floor was littered with bodies, hundreds of bandits filling the floor to the point where it was impossible to move anywhere without stepping on one of them. Neither of them had been attacked, with Haku adding a soft, "Zabuza-sama, I do not detect any killing intent. Whoever attacked must be gone…"

The older nukenin growled and stepped forward as Haku knelt down, checking one of the bodies. Before Zabuza could move much further, Haku spoke up once more. "Zabuza-sama, Gato's men...they're all unconscious."

Zabuza froze. "What?"

"They're all breathing, look."

True to Haku's words, the men on the floor were all still, save for the gentle rise and fall of their chests to signify that life still flowed through them. "Tch, so it _was_ those Leaf bastards. Only they'd be stupid enough to let scum like this life. That's good; they won't kill Gato, which means we still have t-"

 _ **CRACK!**_

There was a thunderous crack that interrupted Zabuza's words, and in the same instant, Haku's porcelain Hunter Mask shattered and the boy was picked up off the ground, tossed backwards. He hit the ground and lay still. A second crack sounded and Zabuza moved, something striking the stone wall a hair's breadth from where his head was, leaving a crater the size of his head. A voice cried out from the distance. " _Well sheeeit!_ Looks like ah've got to get better at this whole aimin' with a rifle thing! Don't reckon you'd mind standin' up so I can get another shot, would ya?"

Zabuza's eyes widened for a moment. "A child? The hell? How the hell did a brat like you take on a group this size? Heh, I knew they were garbage, but you've just proved it."

"Ain't exactly lookin' much better from where ah'm at." The boy's voice sounded through the entrance hall. Zabuza did what he could to peek his head out of cover to look into the rafters of the room from where he thought the voice was coming from, but there was another crack and Zabuza's sharply honed reflexes were the only thing that prevented him from getting hit between the eyes with...whatever had struck his partner. "Aw, c'mon!"

Silence; then Zabuza began to laugh. "So Kakashi babysits all the useless chaff and sends you out to do the actual dirty work, huh?"

"Come again?"

"Come on kid, you're a Leaf nin."

This time, it was the boy's turn to laugh. "Yer jokin', right? Ah ain't a ninja, ah'm a gunslinger. Ah want nothin' t' do with that shithole of a village, thank you."

"What?" Zabuza paused.

"Ah said, ah want nothin' to do with that shithole! Ah know my gun's loud, but ah shouldn't have blown out your ears."

Zabuza laughed darkly again. "Is that so? Who are you?"

He swore he could hear the boy's smirk as he spoke up. "Well, most folks 'round these parts call me the Black Powder Fox. If it's a name yer needin', ah reckon you could call me Naruto Uzumaki."

* * *

Outside the door, Hatake Kakashi froze, his uncovered eye widening. It was impossible. Uzumaki Naruto was dead, wasn't he? The boy had vanished from the village four years prior after he'd been rejected from the Ninja Academy by the Konoha Council, and the Anbu, try as they might, couldn't find a trace of the boy, writing him off as dead. Yet, this boy was proclaiming himself to to be the dead boy himself. A name disparaged and unknown; how would he know it unless he himself were the boy in question? He peeked into the room and found himself only able to watch Zabuza as he and Naruto exchanged words, torn between wanting to move in to aid the wayward boy, and a desire to see what happened next. Did Naruto somehow manage to defeat hundreds of bandits on his own? How? How had he taken Haku out so quickly?

And most importantly, what would the Council say when they found out that their wayward Jinchuriki still lived?

* * *

 **A/N: Another chapter down. I know a lot of people disliked Naruto's accent, and I apologize, but I think it lends a lot to the feel of the story and I think it's still very readable. Also, I know I mentioned Sasuke 'bashing' but that might be the wrong word. The idea is, I'm going to have Naruto treat Sasuke in a realistic manner and not like Ninja Jesus, so Naruto isn't going to put up with his egocentric bullshit.**

 **And as for why Sai of all people is part of Team Seven right now? You'll find out later, but let's just say that Naruto hasn't kept a low profile after he and his 'Aniki' parted ways, and Danzo has ways of attaining information.**


	3. Tumbleweed

**How the East was Won**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Tumbleweed**

* * *

Zabuza Momichi was no idiot. If the kid could have taken on the seemingly endless hordes of Gato's men without difficulty, then he was at least above the brats that Kakashi had brought with him onto the bridge. He was confident he could beat him, but he'd have to flush the kid out of hiding. The strangely accented brat was holed up somewhere toward the back end of the great hall, hiding among the rafters of the old fort. He poked his head out from behind the overturned table that he'd been using as cover…

...and almost immediately pulled it back in, a loud crack like thunder echoing through the hall as a crater appeared in the stonework behind him, right where his head had been. If nothing else, the kid was an expert marksman. Zabuza laughed. "Not bad kid. I got to admit, it takes some skill to hide yourself from a ninja like myself. Of course, it's hard to detect killing intent when you don't have any. Just like the rest of those Leaf shits…"

"Ah said, ah'm not a ninja! Ah'm a gunslinger! Get it right!" There was another crack and the table shook, splintering as a massive hole appeared just above Zabuza's head.

Zabuza shook his head, looking down at the unconscious bodies littering the floor and grinned under his mask, an idea forming in his mind. "Oh? Then I'm sure you won't mind if I decide to take a couple of these useless idiots out permanently then. After all, you aren't a Leaf ninja, so it's not like you'd care…"

Kakashi, still hidden far enough away to avoid detection heard Zabuza's threat, frowning. He wasn't one to avoid killing, but senseless deaths? He remained still and silent, waiting to see what Naruto's response would be.

"...a'ight, ain't like ah'm the one taken 'em out. Hell, make my clean up a whole helluva lot easier iff'n ya did."

Zabuza gave another laugh. "Glad to hear it." He stepped forward out of hiding to bring down the massive beheading cleaver onto an unconscious bandit. Kakashi's eyes widened. Had Naruto become so heartless during his stay away from Konoha? Before he could move, there was suddenly another crack, and the wall behind Zabuza broke further, causing the Mist Nin to retreat back into hiding. "Hey! What happened to you not caring about these idiots?"

"Iff'n yer gonna walk out into the open, ah'm gonna take that shot, dumbass."

Zabuza growled, gripping his sword tighter. Now the brat was just mocking him.

Kakashi gave an inaudible sigh of relief. It seemed like it was a ploy to draw the Mist Nin out of hiding. The Jounin peeked into the room, glancing into the rafters to see if he could spot the boy. Just what Jutsu _was_ he using anyway? It was fast, and if the damage to the solid stone walls was any indication, fairly powerful too. Judging from the craters it left, it almost reminded him of-

No. It couldn't be, could it? Ranged? That would mean he'd learned a highly dangerous, high powered Jutsu without having been in the Academy and somehow _improved_ upon it… Kakashi continued to watch, staying as silent as he could. There. He could see it; a glint of metal in the rafters revealed the boy's hiding place. The Copy-Nin frowned, even more questions arising to the forefront. Questions like, 'what on earth was he holding?' It was a long metal pipe from what he could tell, braced against his shoulder and aimed directly at Zabuza's position. The boy pulled down at a shining brass lever beneath the pipe, then held his breath.

Zabuza appeared once more from behind his cover, dashing quickly across the hall in an attempt to reach another heavy table as his current cover had taken too much damage. Naruto's finger squeezed, and there was another thunderous crack. _Something_ slammed into Zabuza and for a moment, Kakashi wondered if Naruto had actually managed to take out the Nukenin. Unfortunately Zabuza had learned quickly, and it was revealed that what Naruto had actually attacked was a water clone. Kakashi glanced over, and noticed the real Zabuza throwing his cleaver, too quickly for the Leaf nin to react. The cleaver flew through the air and-

Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw the massive blade slam into Naruto's midsection, piercing the boy's stomach and sending his body flying backwards at an angle, Zabuza jumping after it. Naruto hit the wall, pinned to it by the massive blade, and Zabuza landed atop it, glaring down at the impaled boy. "Heh, too bad kid. Should have stayed with Kakashi where it was safe."

 _POOF!_

A puff of smoke and both Kakashi and Zabuza blinked as Naruto's figure was replaced with a log that was now stuck to the wall. There was a whistle from even higher in the rafters, and Zabuza looked up, only for his vision to become suddenly obscured by a green glass bottle with a flaming cloth sticking out of it. The bottle crashed against his body, covering the Nukenin in some sort of liquid, which was almost instantly set ablaze. Zabuza gave a scream and fell backwards off of his cleaver in agony, the flames covering him.

He hit the ground with a bone rattling thud, the agony of the searing inferno taking precedence even over the pain of hitting the ground from a couple story fall. He rolled around, trying to smother the flames but whatever the boy had filled the bottle with was burning fast. In desperation, Zabuza's hands quickly flashed through signs, summoning up a fast Water Jutsu in an attempt to inundate himself and put out the flames. A torrent of water rose up from around him in a column, buffeting his body aside, but doing the trick of putting out whatever he'd been covered in. Gasping in pain, Zabuza rolled over to face the ceiling, his mind caught between agony and fury.

 _CLICK_

Zabuza found himself staring directly into the face of a blond boy wearing foreign clothes and a wide brimmed hat, pointing a metal object directly at his head. The kid grinned. "Sorry, partner. Iff'n you wanna blame someone, blame Gato's thugs for messin' with mah hat." Zabuza opened his mouth to respond, and there was one more thunderous crack as something struck his head with overwhelming power, turning his world black.

A silence fell over the great hall as Naruto stared down at Zabuza's unconscious form. He lazily twirled his revolver around his finger before sliding it into his holster with practiced ease, grinning. "Well. Ah reckon ah oughta' get these jerks taken care of." His hands rose as he frowned in contemplation. "Now, lesse here...how'd the old pervert say it went again?"

Kakashi watched in silent surprise, still curious as to Naruto's next move. He was stunned; he'd managed to get the drop on Zabuza so easily? The Nukenin was a formidable opponent, even a simple Substitution Jutsu shouldn't have been so effective, but Naruto had somehow learned how to mask his presence to match Zabuza's Silent Killing technique, catching him off guard. Zabuza had no doubt assumed the boy to be just another of Kakashi's students, and thus hadn't been on the lookout for someone capable of hiding so well.

"Oh, right, ah remember!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly, almost causing Kakashi to flinch. Keeping himself hidden as best he could, the Copy-Nin craned his neck to get a better look at the wayward Jinchuriki's actions. Naruto's hands quickly flashed through a number of hand seals, and suddenly there were a great deal puffs of smoke across the entire room, and in mere moments the entire room was filled with multiple copies. "A'ight guys, start pulling out rope and gettin' these gentlemen tied up! Ah'll head upstairs and deal with Gato. You three, grab a few sealing tags and stick 'em all over Zabuza and that guy who he came in with. Use sum extra rope with 'em as well; they're our meal ticket for the next six months if we're lucky!"

There was a general cheer throughout the room as the clones all gave words of agreement and got right to work, pulling out sealing tags and unsealing them to pull out lengths of rope and other various materials.

That alone would have been cause for surprise for the Copy-Nin, but if it weren't for his mask, his jaw would have fallen open in shock. Naruto, someone who hadn't been in the village for four years, had just performed a high ranking technique that was taught only to very select few in the Leaf Village. To make things even crazier, he had just spawned a _staggering_ number of clones. It was certain; _someone_ had trained him, someone skilled and someone who knew Leaf Techniques. A pit opened up in Kakashi's stomach for a moment and a chill ran down his spine.

Did Itachi Uchiha take a Jinchuriki apprentice?

The Copy-Nin shook his head. No, that didn't make any sense. Naruto had specifically used non-lethal, or mostly non-lethal anyway, attacks. Itachi wasn't one to shy away from taking lives and it made little sense for him to instill the opposite into a prospective apprentice. Kakashi stuck his head out slightly further over the edge of the door to continue to observing events…

"Th' hell?" One of the Naruto clones replied, glancing in Kakashi's direction.

Kakashi pulled his head back in, a mere split second before there was a loud _CRACK_ and stone exploded where his head had been, and he quickly flashed through a few signs, his figure disappearing in a flurry of leaves. A second later, and one of the Naruto clones rushed out the door and glanced around, frowning. "Hey! Somethin' wrong?" Another Naruto clone shouted from inside.

"...Nah, just thought ah saw somethin'..." The first clone murmured, scratching his head with the end of his revolver before shrugging and turning on his heel to make his way back inside.

* * *

 **[Gato's Fortress - Upstairs]**

* * *

The tension was so thick, it could have been cut with a knife.

Standing on either side of the door, Gato's two lieutenants stood, shaking in place, listening to the sounds that filtered in from the bottom floor as the battle raged on. Then, it stopped. Silence. The two trembling men exchanged fearful glances. Dare they hope? Did Zabuza take out the terrifyingly skilled brat who'd besieged their fort? They had gone completely silent, not even daring to breathe as they heard footsteps coming up the stone stairs.

 _Click-jingle-click-jingle-click-jingle_

Sweat dripped down their brows and they both reached for their katanas at the same time. Whether it was the kid, or Zabuza, either way, they couldn't help but to feel trepidation. Even if Zabuza had won, he might be in a bad mood, and he was known to take it out on them. It was one of the reasons they'd been trying to pressure Gato into backstabbing the Nukenin already so they could breath easier. He was good to keep around as a shield, but he was a drain on manpower and resources.

Their equilibrium fell and they both went pale as the figure stepped into view, and saw with shock that it wasn't the vicious Nukenin who was approaching, but the strangely dressed young shinobi, smirking triumphantly. "Well, howdy! Ah suppose y'all are Gato's last line o' defense?"

Zabuza had failed.

Gato's money was good, but it wasn't enough for the both of them to risk their lives against a child strong enough to take out one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and with a stereo scream, the two men proceeded to run off in opposite directions, leaving the path to Gato's office clear. Naruto scoffed. "Jaysus, talk 'bout rude. Guess Aniki was right, ain't no one these days takin' the time to be polite. You'd think I just took out all their friends-" He paused. "Oh. Right. Whoops."

With a wry grin, the young blonde boy raised a foot and slammed it into the door, causing it to burst off of its hinges and fall to the floor, revealing a small man in a business suit desperately trying to scramble out of an open window. Unfortunately for him, the window was a hair too small for the businessman, leaving him stuck flailing, his stubby legs kicking up and down. "You idiots! Help me! Help meeeeee!" he screamed, desperately trying to pull himself through.

Naruto chuckled as he casually walked across the room, spurs jangling with each step. "Man, with that kinda' attitude, ah'm not surprised yer men up and ran. Ah'd've ran too if ah were in their shoes…" The young man approached the flailing man, and grabbed onto his shoes, giving a mighty tug and pulled the short businessman back into the room, causing him to land face up, staring up at the boy.

" _EEEEEEEEE!_ " Gato squealed, scuttling backward against wall, shaking and sweating, beady eyes flickering back and forth in a desperate attempt to find escape.

"Aw, c'mon. Don't be like that! After ah went through all the trouble t' see you!"

"W-w-w-what do you w-want with me?!" Gato sobbed.

Naruto sighed. "See, ah got a complaint. One o' yer men damaged mah hat." Naruto leaned down, pointing to a small cut in the brim of his hat with the end of his revolver, where the thug's knife had scored a hit. "See, this hat o' mine was a gift from mah Aniki, and yer man cut it. Which means yer responsible for it."

"I-I-I'll can get you another hat! I-I'll give you anything you want! A-anything! Money! Power! Candy!" Gato pleaded.

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his clenched his teeth. " _Candy?!_ Th' hell do you think ah am?! Ah am the Black Powder Fox for fuck's sake!" As he ranted, he pressed the tip of the revolver against Gato's head, causing the shipping mogul to freeze up, eyes crossing behind his sunglasses as he whimpered.

"I-I'm sorry…" Gato whimpered, shivering.

The room fell silent for a few moments, marred only by Gato's terrified whimpers before finally, Naruto spoke up once more. "Gimme yer sunglasses."

"I-I'm sorry?"

"Do ya got sand in yer ears? Ah said, gimme yer sunglasses!" Gato's hands shot up to his face and practically tore the small round glasses off of his face, handing them over to Naruto with a shaking hand. Naruto grabbed the glasses and wiped them off on his vest before sliding them onto his own face. "Got a mirror?" Gato pointed one shivering sausage like finger toward a mirror hanging on the wall about level where his head would be sitting at his desk. Naruto stood and glanced at himself in the mirror, grinning. " _Hooo-eee!_ Damn, ah look good with these! Whaddya think?"

Gato nodded heavily, his chin shaking. "Y-y-you look f-fantastic! B-better than I d-did!"

Naruto chuckled. "Hell yeah ah do! Ah think ah'll keep 'em!"

"S-so you'll let me go?" Gato replied, hopefully.

"Hm? Nah, ah just wanted yer sunglasses." Naruto replied, pointing his revolver back at Gato and casually pulling the trigger, not even looking at him. The mogul's head snapped backward and he fell unconscious much like everyone else before him. With a chuckle under his breath, Naruto twirled the revolver and holstered it, flashing through more hand signs as he spawned a few more clones. "Alright boys, this is gonna suck. Let's roll this sucker downstairs and truss him up in ropes too; we'll bring him back to the townsfolk as a surprise along with the rest of those thugs downstairs. Let them figure out what to do with 'em. As for us, we've got Zabuza!"

"Awww," one of the clones whined, "Do we gotta? He smells worse than an outhouse in th' middle o' summer!"

Naruto shook his head. "Can't just leave 'im here though. He'll be nuthin' but trouble if we let him go. We'll roll 'im downstairs and find a cart to stuff him in. Then once we let everyone at the village know what happened and let them figure out what to do with the rest of these idiots. Then we'll take Zabuza and the kid he's with and drag them to the closest major city, drop 'em off, grab our Ryo and eat like royalty!"

"Alright, alright…" muttered the clones, two of them moving to pick up the mogul as the rest began to loiter about the room, rifling through the drawers and turning the room upside down in their scavenging…

* * *

Kakashi had seen enough.

He hopped down from a tree that gave him a relatively unobscured view of the office window of Gato's room, mind racing. So from what he could tell, Naruto was largely neutral. He was helping the people of the village, and from what it saw, not expecting anything from the village, but he was also focused entirely upon turning Zabuza in for his Bingo Book reward. Kakashi flashed through his own hand signs, producing a single clone. The two exchanged wordless glances; the clone knew what to do. He was to keep an eye on Naruto and follow him from a distance, while the original sent word as fast as possible to the Konoha Council to ask what their decision on what to do with the wayward Jinchuriki was. A messenger bird could get a message to Konoha and back in record time, but he couldn't risk Naruto vanishing on him again.

Would he commanded to bring Naruto back?

Would Naruto even want to come back? And even more worrying, if he wasn't, would he be forced to take him back? Naruto seemed to avoid taking lives, but if worse came to worst, could he and his team take out someone capable of taking out a Nukenin and his protege with such ease? Who taught him how to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and to top it all off, what kind of weapon was allowing Naruto to, if Kakashi's eyes weren't deceiving him, fire off _ranged_ Rasengan projectiles?

A thousand questions, and only one person could answer them.

With a soundless sigh, the original Kakashi vanished from the area in a flurry of leaves, his new mission beginning…

* * *

 **A/N: Nope, not dead yet. Just exhausted. Finally got a break, so I was able to finish up this latest chapter and send it off. Hopefully the next one won't take as long, but seeing how I still have to go back onto night shift, I can't promise anything.**

 **Signing off for now, LaughingLefou.**


End file.
